USDA Cattle Reports Preview

OMAHA (DTN) -- Friday's USDA reports -- both the July 1 Cattle on Feed and biannual Cattle Inventory report -- are going to be highly sought-after material by cattlemen and traders alike and will likely influence the market heading into August.

First, Friday's July 1 Cattle on Feed report could be overshadowed by the midyear Cattle Inventory report, but nevertheless, its findings are worth noting. There's a chance that on-feed numbers are steady to somewhat greater than a year ago. But given how aggressive packers slaughtered fat cattle in June, I tend to lean in the opposite direction, believing that on-feed numbers will be lower thanks to swift marketings.

From there, the next biggest matter of importance in the report will be the market's placement data. For the first time in a long, long time, placements are expected to be lower, which will be inherently important to sort through with a fine-toothed comb to try to gauge supplies moving through the second half of 2022. It's most likely that the lighter weight divisions see more placements than those greater than 700 pounds, as those cattle have already been placed or are kicked out on grass.

Nevertheless, the potential combination of lower on-feed numbers, lighter placements and stronger marketings all bode for a potentially bullish report.

USDA will release its July 1 Cattle on Feed and biannual Cattle Inventory reports at 2 p.m. CDT on Friday.

	USDA Actual	Average Estimate	Range
On Feed July 1		99.8%	98.1-100.5%
Placed in June		94.3%	89.2-97.6%
Marketed in June		102.0%	100.6-103.0%

ShayLe Stewart can be reached at ShayLe.Stewart@dtn.com

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